1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the invention relates to devices to clean debris from the grooves of a face of a head of a golf club. More specifically, the invention relates to such devices which clean debris from multiple grooves simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous methods exist to remove debris from grooves of a face of a head of a golf club which become deposited therein during play of the game of golf. The most common method utilized by golfers involves using the pointed end of a golf tee to individually scrap each groove having debris deposited therein. Following the scraping procedure the golfer typically follows up by wiping the club face with a cloth. This method of scraping grooves with a golf tee is time consuming and typically fails to leave the grooves free of debris to an acceptable level. This method of groove cleaning also tends to be less than uniform across all the grooves on a face of a golf club. This is due to wear to the tip of the golf tee being utilized for the cleaning. Golf tees typically are either formed from wood or plastic and the original tip normally does not match the width and shape of grooves where the tip will not fully seat within the grooves. Additionally, the user does not have any real guidance relative to the required pressure to apply during the movement of the golf tee along each respective groove other than experience and visual observations during the cleaning of the grooves of the golf club under treatment. For these reasons the cleaning process utilizing the golf tee does not typically produce the same level of cleaning from one cleaning procedure to another. This lack of uniformity of cleaning of the grooves of a particular golf club results in minor variations in outcome of strokes taken with that golf club during play of the game of golf.
Various devices have been proposed to provide for cleaning of debris from grooves of golf clubs. Most of these devices have a single tip which cleans a single groove during movement of the tip along each respective groove. Such devices have obvious advantages to use of the tip of a golf tee. First the material utilized to form the tip of the device can be durable and not subject to wear during usage where the tip retains its original shape for a prolonged period of time. Additionally the tip of the device can have a desired configuration which mates with a specific configuration of groove to be cleaned. This mating of the tip of the device to a specific groove configuration can generally match width, depth, configuration of the base of the groove and the configuration of the transition from the walls of the groove to the face of the golf club. This provides for a more uniform cleaning when the single tip groove cleaning device is utilized in an identical manner for all of the grooves on the golf club under treatment. Unfortunately, such single tip groove cleaning devices typically lack features to ensure that the same angle of placement of the tip within each of the grooves occur during movement of the device from one groove to another. This may result in a less than uniform cleaning operation to all of the groove having debris therein. Additionally, if the device is not held and retained at the proper angular orientation during movement of the tip from one end of the groove under treatment to the opposing end the device may actually damage the groove and change the configuration of the groove. Most of these devices lack features which prevent the tip from applying undue pressure to the base of the groove. This can result in damaging the base of the groove and either changing the cross section configuration or even in deepening the groove beyond the original specifications of the golf club. Additionally, such single tip groove cleaners only have a single tip configuration which mates with a single groove specification. Often golfers will have golf clubs having at least two unique groove configurations, such as one specification for their woods and one for their irons. In these instances the golfer utilizing a single tip groove cleaning device will not obtain optimum groove cleaning on all of his or her clubs. Additionally, single tip groove cleaning tools must be manipulated by the user along each groove to be cleaned. This individual swipe along each individual groove is time consuming and can be a distraction to the overall enjoyment derived from the game of golf. Additionally, such a time consuming procedure can result in the player not maintaining a desired level of cleanliness to the grooves of his or her clubs resulting in less than consistent performance during play of the game of golf.
Various deficiencies exist with the groove cleaning methods conventionally known and utilized during the play of golf. As can be seen various attempts have been made to provide for a golfer to maintain the grooves of his or her golf clubs in a debris free state where consistency of play may be obtained with each respective golf club having grooves positioned on the face of the club. These attempts have been less efficient than desired. As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a groove cleaning tool which performs a consistent cleaning procedure to the grooves of a golf club while cleaning multiple grooves with each cleaning swipe of the tool across the face of the golf club. The present invention substantially fulfills these needs.